Petunia is the plain little sister
who gets overlooked and passed over.
She’s not the pretty one,
always quiet and reserved,
not classy, fancy or graceful.
She takes backstage at every turn.
No games, no false pretenses.
She’s frumpy, floppy and flimsy.
Her scent is unrefined,
not confused with real perfumes.
She’s somewhat of an ugly duckling
but when the going gets tough,
we can’t help but admire
her tenacity when facing adversity.
Slow and steady wins the race.
She’s low maintenance, demure and bashful.
So reliable is her performance,
she’s been known to outshine competition.
Unpretentious and free from vanity
Yet, fact not known… surprise ~
petunia blooms are edible !
AP: 2nd place 2025, Honorable Mention 2025
Thou anointed, modest love,
Bears in it honesty of a hornet’s sting,
Wherein cherubs startle in awe and sing -
Wherein tender love does spring:
Be unto thee.
Whose summer’s casted gaze is naught for mere splendor,
In thy abundant spring,
Let no gaze of delight cease.
And thy heart burned incense,
Where gifts of mercy came known,
A sacred flame,
For love alone.
And in thy love, I find my souls own cure,
For in thee, grace and truth are ever sown.
The argument of silence, absonant,
hammers into the pliant mind it’s hard
nails of craving.—a spirit thusly marred
will yield to any prickle, every scant
pressure to give in.—once the foreign implant
is firmly riveted, a brain so jarred
can no longer trust its levies to guard
its thoughts against the inner, speechless “can’t”.
Quietudes disturb the peace of silent
folk, pounding its forceful will upon their backs.
When, going unfulfilled, a lurching tic
tickles the unstilled ego, its violent
lashes thrash harsh whips in frequent attacks
on the tender flesh of a crooked back.
my neighbour was a simple woman
quiet and modest in all ways
she led the kind of life
that most would never envy
from nine to five she'd pay her dues
but then on weekends would come to life
she'd get dolled up and put on heels
and turn into a real live beauty queen
AP: Honorable Mention 2025
In their own tenacious way
Luddits creep out of dust
Forcing time to stand and stay
In the stales of past
They crimilalize in panic
Everything that moves
Passengers of ghost Titanic
Though the news we cruise
Prohibitions fall like leaves
In the August rain
There’s no air for me to breathe
Under luddits reign
So I violate their laws
In the modest way
Like a rebel with a cause
Acts without delay.
I don’t want to be famous, is no gripe,
One can fetch some fame with a lot of hype,
No never, that’s not me,
I’d rather farther see
To see me more a legendary type.
___________________
Limerick|12.11.2024|humour
Poet’s note: No, I never can say such a thing. Something to this effect Calvin said to his alter ego and puffed tiger, Hobbes.
When things grace us,
Our faith and resilience soar.
We feel stronger and worry about nothing.
When hit by ill-luck,
Our actions shrink up.
We trudge with faintness and falter.
Things may take divergent paths.
Receive them with the same verve.
Stand sturdily and accept.
The decor of laces,
And fragrance of lavenders,
In the land of Georgia,
With attire of antiques,
The melody of wind chimes,
Echoing in harmony with grand piano,
Like heaven is playing harp,
And pearls bursting everywhere,
O, the modesty of it all,
Dressed up in high class,
Candles in rustic brass holder,
Lighting up off white wall,
Exploring ivory artfully crafted everywhere,
Rustic kitchen with wooden floor,
Washing bowl on cherry wooden table,
And outhouse under weeping willow tree,
Shining pond with lilies floating,
With creamy violets encompassing around,
A porch with rocking wooden chairs,
With peach ribbon decor everywhere,
Everything that resembles morality,
Were inked dry with a feather pen.
Modest finances
We're supposed to travel to the Algarve, stay at a posh hotel, and eat at a restaurant that sells African food
on my birthday
So many medical bills coming, an unhealthy thud in our post-box and the tediousness of re-insuring the car to walk in our car-infested town and the lengths to banks and medical facility makes a car
a must.
Of course, we could go to the Algarve, stay at a doss house, and risk fighting the bedbugs, there have been many French tourists this year.
When the finances are modest, it is not tragic one has to be less craven and do with Coca-Cola. Burgers and hot fries, there is a charm to meeting those who have as little as us, we feel as if we belong
to the masses and buy a left-wing newspaper.
How wrong we are, the hamburger crowd is not
interested in who rules their life, all they want
is a burger, with fries.
They started with a puddle,
And ended with a maple.
View of river when sunset.
And them being the modest.
Beautiful not to look beyond it.
But hard to read through it.
Wondering what can be their bridle,
Where, melancholy is the only disciple.
Did you remember to give thanks for waking up to another wonderful day?
Would it help to improve your path by taking just a few minutes to pray?
When does gratitude come into play during a person’s daily life?
Does appreciation improve the state of mind of a husband or wife?
How does chemistry work when generating joy in the atmosphere?
How is it that the Universal Mind connects to us and disperses weakening fear?
Why do we strive for compliments and adoration towards things that we do?
Does one respond by putting one’s self down or rather being modest, grateful, and true?
For its own proud boast
Nothing lusty heard
For a tree, gleamy leaved, raised is.
Its bird; left to it.
With an upheaved breast
To sing, far and wide, its praises.
Ain't never been
That important to
You
Just hope we never
Part
Love ain't what people
Think it is
When we do our part
Ain't what it suppose
To be
We knew that from the
Start
Don't know what true
Love is
Guess I will listen
To my heart
Two adults and six kids jammed into a VW beetle. We could have been the poster family for their commercial. Driving twenty-five miles into town and back for Sunday mass. What an excursion. Singing was involved. It was fun right up until dad got the scare of his life and almost hit a pedestrian. That’s when he decided he was doing more than enough driving during the week and weekends were made for staying home and safe.
home sweet home
with both feet
rooted in bliss
AP: Honorable Mention 2025
I promise
Not to promise
Waterfalls
from careless creeks
I vow
not to allow
Expectations of mountains
in handfuls of pebbles
I declare
to be fair
about my dark
coated heart
I assure
not to impure
The scarlet blue
surrounding you
My intent
though modest bent
Heaven and Earth
is what you're worth.
06/04/20
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